August 5, 2011 (TSR) – Attention, Everyone: There’s a large floating “island” somewhere in the Earth’s atmosphere and the owners have asked for help retrieving it via their website.
This 23-foot-wide, helium-filled model of a desert island was constructed by two artists for a festival in Cambridgeshire, England. It was last seen hovered above a lake on the grounds of the Secret Garden Party festival until the late hours of July 24, when ignorant vandals tampered with the tethered ropes and let it loose.
At around 3:00 AM on Sunday morning, the tethering ropes were cut and the balloon began its ascension into the atmosphere. Using modelling tools based around weather data collected at that time, they have a path along which, there is a high probability it may be hovering in the troposphere above the Czech Republic by now.
“Is Land” was next slated to appear at the Burning Man festival in Nevada at the end of August. “Is Land is made of durable polyurethane with foliage décor and so, if found, can be repaired and go on to make its maiden voyage to the US of A,” Cockings and Symonds wrote. If it doesn’t turn up, sponsors of the Secret Garden Party festival said they’ll foot the almost $15,000 bill to make another.
